To Brush or Floss First? That is the question.

We care for ourselves with elaborate cleansing rituals for our skin, hair, nails, mouth and digestive system. Each can have various costs and daily time constraints. When it comes to oral health the minimal cost and 2-3 minutes of effort required can pay dividends towards total systemic health.

It doesn’t matter whether you brush first or floss. The goal for both is to disrupt the plaque on the entire surface of each tooth in your mouth. If this goal is met daily then you will never experience cavities or gum disease.

Some people swish with mouthwash to freshen breath. Products like Listerine can significantly reduce bacteria in the mouth for around 30 mins. This can be a boost to anyone’s oral hygiene regime. Brushing your gums and scraping your tongue can have similar positive effects as tooth brushing; as it also disrupts plaque on soft surfaces. Oil pulling with coconut oil definitely can’t cause harm however total reductions of bacteria in the mouth has yet to be proven.

Activated carbon and other methods of natural tooth whitening don’t work. Abrasive molecules may remove extrinsic stain similar to a polish at the dentist but these natural remedies don’t work. They can’t get inside of the tooth they way professional tooth whitening products do. Placing acids on your teeth like lemons can erode the enamel crystals making teeth darker and weaker. The blogosphere promoting strange remedies do so only for web traffic and the claims are just false news.

Professional tooth whitening works to open the dentinal tubules so that the stains can be lightened from inside the tooth structures making them scientifically proven to give you results. Take care to choose products recommended by your orthodontist and follow the instructions.